This invention relates generally to an electro-mechanical device or system for measuring a selected angle of a range of angles. More specifically, the invention relates to a device for measuring an angle made by two bones connected at a common joint and which rotate approximately in the same plane.
It is a common practice for doctors to set a cast for a broken bone, for example, by means of a mechanical device which shows a reading for the angle at which the broken bone is set in relation to a second bone being set in the same cast and to which the broken bone is rotatably connected. Such devices are also used extensively in the fields of occupational therapy, physical therapy, sports medicine, and many other related areas.
The main disadvantage of goniometers presently being used is that they are purely mechanical and the angles they measure must be read from them in the manner of reading a protractor.